The workshop, “Promoting Investment and Cooperation in Agribusiness,” examined past successes and failures, and explored potential investment models in the agribusiness sector, where new U.S.-China cross-investment opportunities appear to be emerging.

In FY2011, China became the top market for U.S. agricultural goods, purchasing some $20 billion in U.S. agricultural exports and yielding a substantial U.S. bilateral trade surplus in this sector. U.S. government statistics claim that the value of U.S. farm exports to China supported more than 160,000 American jobs in 2011, on and off the farm across a variety of sectors.

Other participants represented a range of leading executives and officials from the following: Accenture, Archer Daniels Midland, Argonne National Laboratory, Bunge, Cargill, Goldman Sachs, McKinsey and Company, the State of Nebraska, Rabobank, Wilmar International, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Development Research Center of the State Council, China Investment Corporation, China Development Bank, Primavera Capital Group, Hopu Capital, Hony Capital, COFCO Group, the State Administration of Grain, the Export-Import Bank of China, Guangdong Wens Group, New Hope Liuhe, Beijing Deqingyuan Agricultural Technology, Zhengbang Group, Gifore Agricultural Machinery, China National Agricultural Development Group, China National Seed Group (Sinoseeds), Hisenor Group, Bright Foods, and Beijing Tianshan-Cofine Stockbreeding.